Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995

Zajonz, Uwe, Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Saeed, Fouad K. N., Aideed, Moteah S. & Lavergne, Edouard, 2023, Parrotfishes (Teleostei: Labridae: Scarini) of the Socotra Archipelago: Diversity and distributional biogeography, including a range extension of Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995, Zootaxa 5389 (3), pp. 301-330 : 319-321

Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995

Scarus zufar Randall & Hoover, 1995: 684 ; holotype: BPBM 36056 ; type locality: southern Oman.

Dhofar Parrotfish

Figure 14

Material examined: Underwater photographs.

Distinctive characters: Body depth 2.5–2.7 in SL; dorsal profile of head convex; posterior nostril twice as large as anterior nostril; teeth fully fused to form dental plates, upper dental plate about three-fourths covered by lips; cutting edge of dental plates nearly smooth; no teeth posteriorly on upper dental plate; caudal fin truncate with slightly prolonged lobes in terminal males. Meristic values: Pectoral-fin rays 15; median predorsal scales 4, first largest; cheek with 2 scale rows, lower row with 4 scales.

Colouration: Body of initial phase orange anteriorly, scales with green arc, the green becoming progressively broader posteriorly. Terminal males green, the scale edges pink, posterior part of body usually with a greenish or green-yellow area; area beneath pectoral fins and abdomen pinkish or salmon pink; caudal fin with three blue bars. Both phases with pale orange operculum; upper lip, snout and chin green with extended irregular stripe to cheek at lower edge of eye; a short green stripe extending from posterior edge of eye; and pectoral fins orange with yellow axil.

Distribution: Restricted to the northern part of the Indian Ocean, previously believed to constitute a “centre of endemism” in southern Oman ( Randall & Hoover 1995; Randall 1995). Its range subsequently extended east to Pakistan ( Psomadakis et al. 2015) and Bangladesh ( Hasan & Parvej 2020), and south-west to the Socotra Archipelago (present study).

Remarks: Observed individuals match the description of Scarus zufar provided by Randall & Hoover (1995); previously not recorded on Socotra Archipelago ( Zajonz et al. 2019). The new record is based on underwater photographs taken in several localities at depths of 7–14 m from the south-western to the eastern part of Socotra Island; yet abundances were low. Subsequently, the species was observed in a mixed rocky and coral habitat with wave action at Abd al-Kuri Island, thus marking its westernmost range edge. It is unique in contrast to other species in that its initial phase and terminal males exhibit minor sexual dimorphism.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Scarus zufar. A: initial phase, Eryssel, Socotra Island, 12 m depth; B: terminal male, Ras Bidou, Socotra Island, 14 m depth; C: terminal male, Eryssel, Socotra Island, 12 m depth.